Senegal is considering reintroducing visa requirements for citizens of countries that impose one on Senegalese nationals.
Could Senegal follow Namibia’s recent lead by re-imposing an entry visa on citizens of countries that require visas for Senegalese? The authorities are thinking about it…
Responding to questions from MPs regarding the country’s visa regime, the Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, Yacine Fall, told the National Assembly yesterday that Senegal should indeed revisit this free visa policy.
“The issue of visas has been raised by several of you and we fully agree that it is important for Senegal to revisit the issue of free visas and to try to implement a policy of reciprocity,” explained the minister.
Yacine Fall points out that the government “is currently examining this issue” because, according to the minister, “the law according to which foreigners who must come to Senegal, and whose countries apply an amount to pay for visas, has never changed. It was just a political decision that was implemented. We are looking into it.”
Several countries could be affected by this possible reintroduction of the entry visa to Senegal
While Namibia has announced that it will impose an entry visa on citizens of United States, Canada, UK, France and 27 other countries from April 1, 2025 due to lack of reciprocity, Senegal is therefore considering following suit.
Upon presentation of a passport valid for at least 6 months, Senegal currently grants visa-free entry to the following countries:
- Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Tunisia.
- Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.
- Other countries: Brazil, Canada, China, Djibouti, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and United States.
If Senegal were to introduce this visa requirement, the following countries would be affected, as they impose a visa (consular, on arrival or electronic e-Visa) on Senegalese nationals:
- all European states, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo, Djibouti, India, Japan, Mauritius, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
